How to Do CPR - Step by Step Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Guidelines

Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) is a lifesaving technique useful in many emergencies, including a heart attack or near drowning, in which someone’s breathing or heartbeat has stopped. The American Heart Association recommends that everyone — untrained bystanders and medical personnel alike — begin CPR with chest compression.

We all know that something is better than nothing. It is far much true when someone is dying near you. You should respond immediately instead of just standing there. Remember, the difference between your doing something and doing nothing could be someone’s life.

Here is some advice from the American Heart Association:

Untrained: If you don’t have any training in CPR, then provide hands-only CPR. That means continuous chest compression of 100 to 120 a minute until the medical team or ambulance arrive. You don't need to try rescue breathing.
Trained and ready to go: If you're well-trained and confident in your ability, check to see if there are a pulse and breathing. If there is no breathing or a pulse within 10 seconds, begin chest compressions. Start CPR with 30 chest compressions and then give two rescue breaths.
Trained but rusty: If you've previously received CPR training, but you're not confident in your abilities, then do chest compressions at a rate of 100 to 120 a minute.

The above advice applies to adults, children and infants needing CPR, but not newborns (infants up to 4 weeks old).

When to do CPR

CPR is not just for heart attacks. The following causes of sudden death may also require CPR.

Electric shock due to faulty electric lines/ circuits
Drowning down the water
Severe allergic reactions
Severe difficulty in breathing because of a constricted or obstructed throat or a lack of air.
Drug overdose
Suffocation
Disabling injuries

The cases, as mentioned above, are most common. Along with these cases, there may arise such situation where CPR can save lives.

Why is CPR so important?

CPR alone can not restart the heart but, it can make sure the oxygenated blood flowing to the brain and other important organs until the medical team or ambulance arrives. The objective is to delay tissue death and to extend the brief window of opportunity for a successful resuscitation without permanent brain damage.

When the heart stops, the lack of oxygenated blood can cause brain damage in only a few minutes. A person may die within eight to ten minutes resulting from brain damage. In this case, the CPR can delay brain damage and eventually may save a life.

CPR may not ensure to save a life, but it can triple the person’s chance of surviving if someone starts CPR in the first minute or two. If you use an AED in those first few minutes, survival rates reach more than 70%.

Before Beginning CPR

Over 1.5 million heart attacks occur each year, and approximately 350,000 of these people die before ever reaching a hospital. Approximately 7 million adults and children suffer disabling injuries in their own homes and backyards each year, resulting from accidents which may also require CPR. But before beginning CPR:

Verify Scene Safety: You must verify that the environment is safe enough for the person who is in a critical situation before taking any steps of CPR
Check for Responsiveness: Firstly check the response of the person. If the person appears unconscious, tap or shake his or her shoulder and ask loudly, "Hey! Hey! Are you OK?"
Get Help: If the person doesn't respond, call 999 (the official emergency number of the United Kingdom) or the local emergency number and get the Automated External Defibrillator (AED).
Assess for breathing and pulse: Check for absent or abnormal breathing by keeping the chest movement under observation for Five (5) to Ten (10) seconds. Check the carotid pulse for a minimum of five (5) seconds but do not take more than ten (10) seconds to determine the presence of a pulse. It is important to curtail the required time in starting CPR. So, it is better to take no more than ten (10) seconds to assess the patient. Two probable situations may arise there. The operation procedure varies with the situation.
a. If the patient has a normal pulse and breathing, monitor them until emergency responders or ambulance arrives.
b. If the patient has a normal pulse but abnormal breathing, open the patient’s airway and begin rescue breathing. Administer one breath every five (5) to six (6) seconds, not crossing ten (10) to twelve (12) breaths per minute. If you have not activated the emergency response system yet, do it urgently. Continue checking the pulse of the patient in every two (2) minutes. If you find the absence of a pulse at any point, commence administering CPR.
Try using AED if available: And finally, as soon as an AED is available, deliver one shock if instructed by the device, then begin CPR.

Step by Step Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Guidelines

There are seven essential steps of CPR everyone should know.

Place your hand (above): Lay down the patient on his back on a smooth and firm surface. Then sit beside him and place your hand on his chest.

Interlock fingers (above): Keep your arms straight, cover the first hand with the heel of the other hand and interlock the fingers of both hands as shown in the following picture. Keep your fingers raised to make sure that they do not touch the patient’s chest or rib cage.

Give chest compressions (above): Lean forward to make sure that your shoulders are directly over the patient’s chest. Press down on the chest about two inches. Release the pressure but don’t move your hands from the patient’s chest and let the chest come back up. Continuously repeat to give thirty (30) compressions at a rate of hundred (100) compressions per minute. Try to harmonise the push with the beat of the Bee Gees famous song “Stayin’ Alive.”

Open the Airway (above): Now move to the patient’s head and tilt the head. Then lift his chin to open the airway again. Make sure that his mouth falls open slightly.

Give rescue breaths (above): Use the hand that was on the forehead to pinch the nostrils closed and support the patient’s chin with the other hand. Take a gentle breath and put your mouth over the patient’s mouth. Continue to blow until you can see his chest rise.

Watch chest falls back: Remove your mouth from the patient’s mouth and look along the chest. Wait until the chest falls back. Then repeat the step no. Five (5) and Six (6) once.

Repeat chest compressions and rescue breaths: Put your hands on his chest again and repeat the cycle of interlocking fingers, thirty (30) chest compressions and two (2) rescue breaths. Continue the cycle until an ambulance or AED arrives.

That’s all for now for giving an adult CPR. However, there are different procedures for giving CPR to children and infants. It is so painful to lose someone close to our heart. But it becomes more pathetic when he/ she could have been saved if we were a little bit more careful. This article fulfils this demand. It ensures you on complete learning of CPR processes and saving lives surrounding you.

In an image, the whole process is given below –